The Iowa Hawkeyes have just two pre-conference games remaining, beginning with tonight’s matchup at home with Eastern Illinois. After back-to-back losses, the Hawkeyes are 6-2 but coach Steve Alford still likes the potential of his ballclub. Alford says his team is doing a lot of things right. Iowa is third in the Big Ten in scoring and is in the top five in scoring defense. But he’s worried about the 17-turn-overs per game and poor foul shooting. Alford was upset with the seniors after last week’s loss to Texas Tech but says they have provided strong leadership coming out of the Christmas break. Alford says the seniors get credit for the intense practices of the past four days. Eastern Illinois has struggled to a 1-7 mark to this point. Alford says Eastern Illinois has played a good schedule, so they won’t be intimidated coming into Carver Hawkeye. Alford says Eastern Illinois isn’t “near as tall” as Iowa, so he hopes to exploit that with an inside game.
